Using the MailChimp integration

In our haste to bring amazing new features, updates and integrations to the Commusoft app it’s all too easy to miss a proper announcement with the appropriate fanfare! Our MailChimp integration was one of the nifty ones that managed to fall through the cracks.

There’s a good chance you’ve already heard about it as we’ve referenced it a few times in other articles, videos and webinars but you may not understand exactly what it’s for and how you can get started with using it.

MailChimp is a service that allows you to create and send mass emails. You can build dynamic email templates, segment your contact lists and design targeted email marketing campaigns all through MailChimp. With the integration set up, you can export your customer list to MailChimp and easily send them marketing materials and content.

The gif below from the MailChimp homepage shows you just how easy it is to create beautiful, professional marketing emails that show off products and boost sales.

Get your MailChimp account

MailChimp offers three pricing plans for varying business sizes. The great news is that one of these is a free plan, so you can always try out this version and decide later on if you want to upgrade to access additional features and unlimited sends.

With the New Business plan, you can have an email list of up to 2000 subscribers and send up to 12,000 emails per month. Beginning your plan is as simple as hitting the “Sign Up Free” button on the top navigation bar of MailChimp’s website and filling in your details.

Once this is completed, you’ll receive an email asking you to confirm your account. Now you’re ready to go! The first screen you’ll see is your account dashboard which will look something like the below:

Setting up your integration

Getting integrated with MailChimp is as simple as generating an API key and dropping it into the integration field in Commusoft’s company settings.

To do this, navigate to your MailChimp Account view and select “Extras” from the menu. This will open a drop-down—choose the second option “API keys.” You’ll be taken to the API screen where you can then scroll down to the section labelled “Your API keys” and click the “Create A Key” button. Your API key will automatically be generated and will look like a long string of numbers and letters. Copy this to your clipboard and move to the Commusoft web app.

Navigate to your company settings and choose “Integrations.” Click the “Use MailChimp” button and paste the API key into the pop-up field. Click save, and enjoy your new integration!

Check out the video below for a walkthrough:

Exporting your data

Now you’ve integrated the two applications, you can export your customer list to MailChimp and begin your email marketing campaigns.

To do this, move to the Reporting tab and go into your customer report. On the top right of your report, you’ll see three icons. Click the first, which looks like an arrow pointing to the right. This will open the export panel where you can configure your list. You have an option to export a list of customers or contacts. If you choose contacts, you will add every contact within every customer, which may include multiple email addresses owned by other occupiers, employees etc. Customers will just include the main customer email address.

Once this is chosen, you will need to fill in your email, name (use your own name or company name as opposed to an email address as MailChimp will not recognise it), subject (you might choose “Newsletter” if this is what you’ll be creating, but it may be simpler to just use “Customer list” or similar at this time) and ensure that your company address is filled in correctly. Once you’re happy, hit Save. Your list will now be available on MailChimp.

Check out the video below for a walkthrough:

In the near future, we’ll be releasing a video exploring the capabilities and benefits of MailChimp for your field service business, so keep an eye out for that!